Historical Insights
Focus on Teaching
History at the Higher Education Academy works towards the development
of teaching and learning of history in Higher Education – reviewing current
practices, discussing disciplinary research and innovations, and examining issues
of strategic importance.
We offer a wide range of services: a programme of events and professional
development seminars; funding for the enhancement of teaching and learning;
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postgraduates and postdoctoral students.
History at the Higher Education Academy
University of Warwick
COVENTRY CV4 7AL
heahistorysubjectcentre@warwick.ac.uk
CONTEMPORARY
BRITAIN
ISBN 978-0-9564603-4-9
90000 >
Kate Bradley
9 780956 460349
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Historical Insights: Focus on Teaching
Contemporary Britain
ISBN 978-0-9564603-4-9
May 2010
Published by History at the Higher Education Academy
University of Warwick
Coventry
CV4 7AL
t: 02476 150892
e: heahistorysubjectcentre@warwick.ac.uk
w: www.historysubjectcentre.ac.uk
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Contemporary Britain | 1
Contents
Introduction
3
Frequently asked questions
4
Themes in political and economic history
The Liberal Governments, 1906–14
First World War
Suffrage and political participation
Inter-war politics
Inter-war economics
Second World War
Labour Governments 1945–51
Consensus: economics and politics to 1975
Economics and politics in the 1970s
Margaret Thatcher and British politics in the 1980s
Politics in the 1990s
Ireland, Scotland and Wales
The end of Empire?
Europe
6
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Themes in social and cultural history
Class
Gender
Race and ethnicity
Consumption and leisure
Working lives and education
The media, communication and entertainment
Religion
Crime
Welfare
21
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
General reference guides
31
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Introduction
Contemporary Britain is becoming increasingly popular both as a subject for
historical research as well as for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. There
is a burgeoning literature on the cultural, economic, political and social aspects of
Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries, supported by well-respected journals focussing
on the period and a growing number of online resources to support teaching and
research. Contemporary history, of Britain or elsewhere, forms a major part of the
undergraduate curriculum. According to a survey undertaken in 2007, there is no
history degree programme in the country that does not include at least an optional
module on contemporary history (Chambers, 2008: 3).
Contemporary British history is popular because it offers a fascinating means of
understanding the concerns of the present day and of uncovering the reasons for
massive social and economic changes wrought since 1900, especially from 1945
onwards. This past is seemingly more accessible than other periods, in terms of the
rich variety and sheer amount of sources available. Contemporary British history
offers great potential for innovative teaching, learning and assessment techniques,
such as students undertaking oral history projects that can be digitally recorded and
uploaded onto university virtual learning environments or onto publicly accessible
websites. It also offers potential for interdisciplinary work and collaboration with,
for example, sociology, politics, journalism and film studies departments. There are
also many routes into contemporary British history from outside the academy, such
as the inclusion of contemporary history topics within the National Curriculum,
activities and exhibitions organised by museums and archives as well as specialist
and popular television programming. Thus students are often already familiar with
the contemporary history terrain and are comfortable with the thought of studying
Britain in the 20th century and beyond.
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4 | Contemporary Britain
Frequently asked questions
What IS contemporary British history?
The first problem anyone encounters who is planning or revising teaching on
contemporary British history is simply this: when does it begin and end? For the
purposes of meeting the needs of a variety of readers, this booklet will treat
contemporary British history as 20th and 21st century Britain, beginning in 1900 in
the final years of Queen Victoria’s reign, and ending in the first decade of the 21st
century.Yet the definition of ‘contemporary’ history is a contested one. Should we
think of contemporary history as being contained behind a moving wall, 20, 30, 40, 50,
60 years before the present day? Should we think instead of working forwards from
a fixed date that acts as a watershed? Both have their merits and drawbacks. While
the former provides a neat snapshot of British history, there are real questions of
how processes and events within that period are truly exclusive issues of that period.
For example, with a module beginning in 1979, to what extent can we deal with
Margaret Thatcher without referring back through that decade and earlier? Other
historians use the turn of the century or the two world wars in the 20th century as
convenient watershed dates from which to begin their teaching. Although this allows
for the study of contemporary British history over its longue durée, there is the
question of the extent to which the inter-war period or the 1950s form a coherent
whole with the 1990s or the 2000s. With teaching, the relative importance of these
considerations is determined by the prior learning of the students and the structure
of the degree programme, not to mention the emphasis of the module.
Is contemporary history too easy?
One common worry is the potential danger of students thinking that they know
more than they actually do about the topic, especially if they lived through the period
in question, or have parents or older friends with strong views on events in the past.
This can be countered by steering the course materials towards encouraging more
thorough engagement with the topic, while memories of a particular event can be
channelled into more critical directions through seminar activities or related to
concepts such as bias and the question of perspective.
Isn’t there too much to cover?
The 20th century has an embarrassment of riches as far as primary sources are
concerned, since they are readily accessible through libraries, archives and online
databases as well as people’s homes (I have supplemented my teaching of the Second
World War and the 1950s by bringing in my personal copies of my grandparents’
ration books and National Insurance record cards, for example). Such sources
bring the topic to life for students, who may not otherwise have the opportunity to
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examine such items closely. This relatively easy to access everyday documentation
is supported by the increasing amount available online such as the archives of major
newspapers.Various museums and archives have digitised parts of their collections
and the rise of Web 2.0 technology – sites which enable users to post materials and
collaborate – has had positive benefits for the history teacher. It is now possible to
access a wide range of clips of historic events through sites like YouTube, whilst ITN
Source and the BBC Archive pages are also useful.
Interdisciplinarity is also a key characteristic of contemporary British history, as
stated in the first editorial of the journal, Twentieth Century British History: ‘… no
adequate history of British urbanization in the twentieth century can be written
which does not take account of the work of a geographer such as David Harvey or
a sociologist such as Ray Pahl.’ The great advantage of contemporary history is that
it both requires and is enhanced by an engagement with other disciplines, both in
terms of method and content. Teachers of contemporary British history should not
be afraid to sample the wares of other disciplines as appropriate. Some of the classic
sociological studies of the 20th century – such as the New Survey of London Life and
Labour or Willmott and Young’s Family and Kinship in East London – have become
invaluable primary sources for historians. Approaches from other disciplines – for
example, the application of the techniques of visual sociology to the analysis of films
or advertising posters – can greatly enhance the possibilities open to teachers.
This booklet will now outline key teaching themes in 20th-century British history.
Each section will provide an indicative guide to key topics and questions, followed
by a list of readings, and recommended primary sources and websites. All website
addresses were correct at the time of writing in May 2010. A list of general texts and
websites is provided at the end of the booklet.
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Themes in political and economic history
The Liberal Governments, 1906–14
The Liberal Governments are a good starting point for the political history of the
20th century, as well as opening up possibilities for social and economic history.
Although the Liberals came to power in a landslide election victory, this would be the
final time this party would be in power as a majority. The Liberal Governments also
set up a raft of key social legislation, from old age pensions to National Insurance,
from school meals to juvenile courts. This subject can be treated as an economic or
political history topic, or used as an entry point into social history. Can it be said
that the Liberal Governments set up a prototype for the Welfare State? What can
anxieties about the lives of the poor and vulnerable tell us about the state of the
nation before the First World War? Why did the Liberal Governments support a
wide range of social reforms, but refuse to grant the vote to women? The period
1906–14 is also a very good way of exploring political changes within the British
nation, such as calls for Irish independence and the power of the trade unions. It
also sets up discussion of the political emancipation of the working classes and the
evolution of the Labour Party into one of the two parties of government. The topic
of British supremacy and decline can also be explored through considering economic
competition from Europe and the United States, attitudes towards the British Empire
and military struggles with Germany.
Secondary reading
P. Adelman, The Decline of the Liberal Party 1910–31, 2nd edn. (Harlow, 1995).
C. Cook, A Short History of the Liberal Party, 1900–2001 (Basingstoke, 2002).
D. Dutton, A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century (Palgrave, 2004).
E.H.H. Green, The Crisis of Conservatism: the Politics, Economics and Ideology of the British
Conservative Party (London, 1995).
J.R. Hay, The Origins of the Liberal Welfare Reforms 1906–1914 (Basingstoke, 1983).
K. Laybourn and J. Reynolds, Liberalism and the Rise of Labour 1890–1918 (London,
1984).
G.R. Searle, The Liberal Party:Triumph and Disintegration 1886–1929, 2nd edn.
(Basingstoke, 2001).
Web resources
Liberal Democrat History Group: www.liberalhistory.org.uk
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The First World War
The First World War can be treated in a number of ways. First, the military history of
the war itself can illuminate the impact of industry and technology upon its progress,
and the need for officers and rank and file soldiers to adapt to this. Second, the
topic can be treated through the paradigm of the management of the British war
effort, bringing in questions of the economy and its impact upon the major political
parties. Questions of gender and class are popular topics for study. The Suffragettes
suspended their campaign on the outbreak of hostilities in order to support the
war effort. Women of all backgrounds found themselves working in jobs previously
open only to men, or combining work and family life, effectively as single parents.
Although this broadened the horizons of many women, it also created tensions with
trade unions wishing to protect the interests of their male members. The experience
of serving with others from a wide range of backgrounds also had the effect of
expanding the world view of men; the experience of war itself also galvanised many
towards pacifism. The question of its impact on British society and the economy is an
important one to consider. What were the changes and continuities between 1914
and 1918? Did the war generate or accelerate change? How profound was change?
The literature of the First World War can be a useful way into experiences of war.
The war poets – Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg and others –
provide insight into the horror of the conflict, whilst Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth
is a superb memoir of her experiences as a VAD nurse. Jay Winter’s work on the
commemoration of the war is a good place to begin analysis of its cultural impact.
Novels such as Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong and Pat Barker’s Regeneration can be used
for interdisciplinary work – history as a source for literary fiction.
Secondary reading
G. J. DeGroot, Blighty: British Society in the Era of the Great War (London, 1996).
P. Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, revised edition (Oxford, 2000).
S. Grayzel, Women and the First World War, (Harlow, 2002).
A. Marwick (ed.), Total War and Social Change (Basingstoke, 1988).
A. Marwick, The Deluge: British Society and the First World War, 2nd edn. (Basingstoke,
2006).
S. Pedersen, ‘Gender, welfare and citizenship in Britain during the Great War’, American
Historical Review 95 (1990), pp. 983–1006.
B. Waites, A Class Society at War: England 1914–18 (Leamington Spa, 1987).
J. Winter, The Great War and the British People (Basingstoke, 2003).
J. Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning (Cambridge, 1998).
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Web resources
History in Focus issue on war: www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/War/
Parliamentary Archives, ‘Called to Active Service’: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_
publications_and_archives/parliamentary_archives/archives____ww1_
conscription.cfm
Suffrage and political participation
The period to 1928 saw the introduction of full parliamentary democracy in the
United Kingdom. The 1918 Representation of the People Act granted the vote to
all men over the age of 21, and all women over the age of 30, subject to property
qualifications. The 1918 Act changed the political landscape in terms of who could
vote and how the parties interacted with the public. For feminists, the Act heralded
a further wave of activism – ‘equality feminism’, the campaign for women to have the
vote on an equal basis to men.
The topic can be opened up chronologically to explore broader questions of
citizenship within the United Kingdom. A consideration of how the post-1945 Welfare
State introduced citizens’ rights and responsibilities can be a useful development of
learning around the Representation of the People Act 1918 and the rationale for
opening up the vote and thus citizenly responsibilities to all men and women over
28 years old. The lowering of the age of majority in 1969 from 21 to 18 can provoke
debate about how citizens, their rights and responsibilities are defined.
Secondary reading
E. Biagini, Citizenship and Community: Liberals, Radicals and Collective Identities in the
British Isles 1865–1931 (Cambridge, 1996).
J. Garrard, Democratisation in Britain: Elites, Civil Society and Reform since 1800
(Basingstoke, 2002).
S. Holton and J. Purvis (eds.), Votes for Women (London, 1999).
S. Kingsley-Kent, Sex and Suffrage in Britain 1860–1914 (London, 1987).
M. Pugh, Electoral Reform in War and Peace 1906–18 (London, 1978).
M. Pugh, Women and the Women’s Movement 1914–1959 (Basingstoke, 1992).
D. Tanner, Political Change and the Labour Party 1900–18 (Cambridge, 1990).
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Web resources
Parliamentary Archives, ‘Women and the Vote’: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_
publications_and_archives/parliamentary_archives/archives___the_suffragettes.
cfm
The National Archives and Parliamentary Archives, ‘Citizenship: A history of people,
rights and power in Britain’: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/
The Women’s Library: www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/
Inter-war politics
The key themes of politics in the inter-war period centre upon the reasons for
the decline of the Liberal Party versus the rise of Labour, and the dominance of
the Conservatives. The responses of the political parties to the economic crises of
the inter-war period are also important. From 1931, there were three ‘national’ or
coalition governments to tackle the problems of the Depression. A similar model was
used during the Second World War. Questions to ask students include the impact
of allegiance and non-allegiance to the national government on individual political
parties, and how democratic the national governments were in practice. Other
important themes include the roles of women and of class in parliamentary politics.
Attention should also be given to the rise of fascism within both Europe and the
United Kingdom, and the responses to it. Teachers may also like to consider focussing
on the evolution of political communication, as politicians learned how to use radio
and newsreel to best convey their political messages.
Secondary reading
P. Adelman, The Decline of the Liberal Party 1910–31, 2nd edn. (Harlow, 1995).
P. Adelman, The Rise of the Labour Party, 1880–1945, 3rd edn. (Harlow, 1996).
S. Ball, The Conservative Party and British Politics 1902–1951(Harlow, 1995).
M. Cowling, The Impact of Labour 1920–24: the Beginning of Modern British Politics
(Cambridge, 1971).
P. Graves, Labour Women:Women in British Working Class Politics 1918–39 (Cambridge,
1994).
R. McKibbin, The Evolution of the Labour Party 1910–24 (Oxford, 1974).
R.D. Pearce, Britain: Domestic Politics 1900–39, 2nd edn. (London, 2000).
J. Ramsden, The Age of Balfour and Baldwin, vol. 3, in J. Barnes, ed., A History of the
Conservative Party (Harlow, 1978).
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A. Reid and H. Pelling, A Short History of the Labour Party, 12th edn. (Basingstoke, 2005).
N. Thompson, The Anti-Appeasers: Conservative Opposition to Appeasement in the 1930s
(Oxford, 1971).
A. Thorpe, A History of the British Labour Party, 2nd edn. (Basingstoke, 2001).
P. Williamson, National Crisis and National Government. British Politics, the Economy and
Empire 1926–32 (Cambridge, 1992).
P. Williamson, Stanley Baldwin. Conservative Leadership and National Values (Cambridge,
1999).
M. Worley, Labour Inside the Gate: A History of the British Labour Party between the Wars
(London, 2005).
Web resources
London Metropolitan University and the TUC, ‘The Union Makes Us Strong’:
www.unionhistory.info
Inter-war economics
This topic, tracing the impact of the First World War on the British economy, is
closely related to the one above, although the two can comfortably be taught as
separate classes. The first area concerns longer term internal trends within the British
economy. Did the war cause or exacerbate the decline of British staple industries,
and how apparent was this to contemporaries? British markets had also suffered
through the impact of naval blockades and concentration on the war economy –
were these successfully recovered or had the British moment gone? What was the
role of the trade unions? The second aspect concerns the impact of the terms of the
Armistice. Why did Britain face a downturn in 1920–1? When Germany was unable
to make reparations payments, how did this impact upon other countries? How did
the Wall Street Crash of 1929 impact on the British economy at macro and micro
levels? Why did recovery take so long – and what was the role of rearmament within
that? The topic can also be handled at micro level. The impact of the Depression was
uneven. The south-east and parts of the midlands enjoyed a boom whilst certain areas
suffered intense deprivation. What were the social impacts of unemployment and
underemployment over extended periods of time?
Secondary reading
P. Constantine, Unemployment in Britain between the Wars (London, 1980).
N. Crafts, ‘Long-term unemployment in Britain in the 1930s’, Economic History Review,
40 (1987) 3, pp. 418–32.
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S. Glynn and A. Booth, ‘Unemployment in interwar Britain: a case for re-learning the
lessons of the 1930s?’, Economic History Review 41 (1988) 2, pp. 236–58.
S. Glynn and A. Booth, Modern Britain: An economic and social history (London, 1996).
M. Morris, The General Strike (Harmondsworth, 1976).
R. Pearce, Britain: Industrial Relations and the Economy 1900–39 (London, 1994).
J. Stevenson and C. Cook, The Slump: Society and Politics During the Depression (London,
1977).
C. Webster, ‘Healthy or hungry thirties?’, History Workshop Journal 13 (1982), pp. 110–
29.
J.M. Winter, ‘Infant mortality, maternal mortality and public health in Britain in the
1930s’, Journal of European Economic History 8 (1979) 2, pp. 439–62.
C. Wrigley, ‘Labour and the Trade Unions in Great Britain, 1880–1939’, in A. Digby
and C. Feinstein (eds.), New Directions in Economic and Social History,Vol. 2 (London,
1992).
Web resources
The National Archives, ‘The Cabinet Papers 1915–1978’: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
cabinetpapers/alevelstudies/1930-depression.htm
The National Archives, ‘The General Strike’: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
cabinetpapers/alevelstudies/the-general-strike.htm?WT.ac=The%20General%20
Strike/
Second World War
As with the First World War, exploration of the Second World War offers much
opportunity for different approaches. To what extent did this war change British
society, in terms of people’s experiences of evacuation, conscription and the Home
Front? Did it break down social barriers, or reinforce prejudices? How were gender
relations shaped by the experiences of the war? What lessons did government
learn, and how were these applied at the time and in the longer term? How did the
experience of war set the scene for post-war reconstruction? How was the economy
managed during this time? How did British relations with the rest of the world
change during the course of the war and in its immediate aftermath?
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Secondary reading
P. Addison, The Road to 1945: British Politics and the Second World War (London, 1975).
S. Benton, ‘Women, war and citizenship’, History Workshop Journal 58 (2004), pp. 326–
334.
B. Brivati and H. Jones (eds.), What Difference Did the War Make? (Leicester, 1993).
S. Brooke, Labour’s War:The Labour Party During the Second World War (Oxford, 1992).
A. Calder, The Myth of the Blitz (London, 1991).
A. Calder, The People’s War: Britain 1939–45 (London, 1969).
J. Harris, ‘War and social history: Britain and the Home Front during the Second
World War’, Contemporary European History 1 (1992) 1, pp. 17–35.
T. Harrisson, Living Through the Blitz (London, 1976).
A. Marwick, (ed.) Total War and Social Change (Basingstoke, 1988).
L. Noakes, War and the British: Gender and National Identity 1939–91 (London, 1998).
R. Pope, War and Society in Britain 1899–1948 (Harlow, 1991).
S. Rose, Which People’s War? National Identity and Citizenship in Wartime Britain 1939–45
(Oxford, 2003).
H. Smith, Britain in the Second World War: A Social History (Manchester, 1996).
P. Summerfield, Women Workers in the Second World War (1984).
Web resources
Imperial War Museum links to Learning Resources: www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/
nav.24197/
Mass-Observation Online: some institutions have a subscription to the online archive,
check with your librarian: www.massobs.org.uk
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Labour Governments, 1945–51
The Labour Party came to power in a landslide election in 1945, trouncing Winston
Churchill. Building on the proposals within the Beveridge Report, they promised
the British public a bright new future. Issues to consider include how the Labour
Governments managed the establishment of the Welfare State, the National Health
Service and implementing their nationalisation programme. How did they cope with
the economic cost of the Second World War and a changing international political
scene? How did ordinary Britons react to Stafford Cripps’s ‘austerity’ policy? How
was demobilisation managed, at the same time as National Service for young men
continued? What was the cost of maintaining the Empire? How did relationships with
the United States and Europe change as the Cold War developed?
Secondary reading
P. Addison, Now the War is Over: A Social History of Britain 1945–51 (London, 1995).
S. Fielding, ‘What did “the people” want? The meaning of the 1945 General Election’,
Historical Journal 35 (1992) 3, pp. 623–39.
S. Fielding, P. Thompson and N. Tiratsoo, ‘England Arise!’ the Labour Party and Popular
Politics in 1940s Britain (Manchester, 1995).
M.J. Hogan, The Marshall Plan: America, Britain and the Reconstruction of Western Europe
1947–1952 (Cambridge, 1987).
K. Jefferys, The Attlee Governments 1945–1951 (London, 1992).
R.J. Moore, Escape from Empire: the Attlee Government and the Indian Problem (Oxford,
1983).
K. Morgan, Labour in Power 1945–51 (Oxford, 1984).
R.D. Pearce, Attlee’s Labour Governments 1945–51 (London, 2002).
L. Scott, Conscription and the Attlee Governments: the politics and policy of national service,
1945–51 (Oxford, 1993).
A. Sked and C. Cook, Post-war Britain: A Political History (Harmondsworth, 1990).
J. Tomlinson ‘The Attlee government and the balance of payments 1945–1951’,
Twentieth Century British History 2 (1991), pp. 47–66.
I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, Austerity in Britain: Rationing, controls and consumption 1935–
55 (Oxford, 2000).
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Consensus: economics and politics to 1975
The question of consensus centres upon the extent to which the two major political
parties – Labour and the Conservatives – were in agreement over the importance
of the Welfare State. Was the maintenance of the Welfare State as important to both
parties? How did economic performance impact upon governmental and public
attitudes to the provision of welfare? How successful were Keynesian economics in
supporting the Welfare State?
Secondary reading
P. Addison, ‘Consensus revisited’, Twentieth Century British History 4 (1993), pp. 91–4
C. Barnett, The Audit of War (Basingstoke, 1986).
V. Bogdanor and R. Skidelsky (eds.), The Age of Affluence 1951–1964 (London, 1970).
F. Cairncross and A. Cairncross, The Legacy of the Golden Age: the 1960s and their
Economic Consequences (London, 1992).
Contemporary British History – 21 (3) 2007 special issue on the 1964 General Election.
N. Crafts, Britain’s Relative Economic Decline 1870–1995 (London, 2002).
J.C.R. Dow, The Management of the British Economy 1945–60 (Cambridge, 1965).
D. Dutton, British Politics Since 1945:The Rise and Fall of Consensus 2nd edn. (Oxford,
1997).
R. Eatwell, The 1945–1951 Labour Governments (London, 1979).
D. Edgerton, ‘Barnett’s audit of war: an audit’, Contemporary Record 4 (1990) 2, pp. 7–9.
D. Edgerton, Science,Technology and the British Industrial ‘Decline’ 1870–1970
(Cambridge, 1996).
D. Edgerton, Warfare State: Britain 1920–1970 (Cambridge, 2005).
H. Jones and M. Kandiah (eds.), The Myth of Consensus: New Views on British History
1945–64 (Basingstoke, 1996).
D. Kavanagh and P. Morris, Consensus Politics from Attlee to Thatcher (Oxford, 1989).
D. Kavanagh, ‘The postwar consensus’, Twentieth Century British History 3 (1992), pp.
175–90.
R. Lowe, The British Welfare State since 1945, 2nd edn. (Basingtoke, 2005).
R. Lowe, ‘The Second World War, consensus and the foundation of the welfare state’,
Twentieth Century British History 1 (1990), pp. 152–82.
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H. Pemberton, ‘A taxing task: combating Britain’s relative decline in the 1960s’,
Twentieth Century British History 12 (2001), pp. 354–74.
J. Ramsden, The Age of Churchill and Eden 1940–1957 (London, 1995).
A. Ringe, N. Rollings and R. Middleton (eds.), Economic Policy Under the Conservatives: A
Guide to Documents in the National Archives (London, 2004).
N. Rollings, ‘Poor Mr Butskell: a short life, wrecked by schizophrenia’, Twentieth Century
British History 5 (1994), pp. 183–205.
C. Webster, ‘Conflict and consensus: explaining the British health service’, Twentieth
Century British History 1 (1990), pp. 115–51.
N. Woodward, The Management of the British Economy, 1945–2001 (Manchester, 2004).
Economics and politics in the 1970s
The economic crises of the 1970s – the OPEC crisis, rising inflation and trade union
unrest – had a major impact on the two main political parties. Both tried to deal with
these issues, as well as growing unrest in Northern Ireland. The economic crisis threw
the economic underpinnings of the Welfare State and the ‘social contract’ between
the government and the trade unions into the air. Inflation rose dramatically, and
James Callaghan’s Labour Government of 1976–9 fought unsuccessfully to keep it in
check. A cap on public sector pay rises resulted in major strikes – most notoriously
by refuse collectors – causing the ‘Winter of Discontent’ in 1978–9. This is seen as
leading to Margaret Thatcher’s landslide election victory in 1979. Other important
themes include the relationship of the Labour Party to the trade unions, as well
as the reconfiguration of the Conservative Party following the Selsdon Park Hotel
conference of 1970. The Selsdon Group – formed in 1973 – supported free market
economics, and was a major influence on and within Thatcherite policies.
Secondary reading
M. Artis and D. Cobham, Labour’s Economic Policies 1974–9 (Manchester, 1996).
S. Ball and A. Seldon, The Heath Government, 1970–1974: A Reappraisal (London, 1996).
A. Booth, The British Economy in the Twentieth Century (Basingstoke, 2001).
K. Burk and A. Cairncross, Goodbye Great Britain: the 1976 IMF Crisis (New Haven,
1992).
A. Britton, The Trade Cycle in Britain 1958–1982 (Cambridge, 1986).
A. Britton, Macroeconomic Policy in Britain 1974–1987 (Cambridge, 1991).
P. Browning,The Treasury and Economic Policy 1964–1985 (London, 1986).
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N. Crafts, Britain’s Relative Economic Decline 1870–1995 (London, 2002).
R. Floud, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain,Vol.3 Structural Change and
Growth (Cambridge, 2003).
A. Taylor, The Trade Unions and the Labour Party (London, 1987).
J. Tomlinson, ‘Tale of a death exaggerated: how Keynesian politics survived the 1970s’,
Contemporary British History, 27 (2007), pp. 405–27.
M. Wickham-Jones, ‘Right turn: a revisionist account of the 1975 Conservative party
leadership election’, Twentieth Century British History 8 (1997), pp. 74–89.
N. Woodward, The Management of the British Economy, 1945–2001 (Manchester, 2004).
Margaret Thatcher and British politics in the 1980s
What was the electoral appeal of Margaret Thatcher, and what was her contribution
to British politics? Did she dismantle the post-war consensus – or set the scene
for New Labour? Topics for consideration include: the Falklands Crisis; the Brighton
Bomb; the handling of Northern Ireland; the Miners’ Strike; the handling of the
economy; the Poll Tax riots; and relations with Europe. Reconfigurations on the
political left should also be considered – the split of the SDP from Labour and the
political alliances of the Liberals. Responses to Thatcherism – such as Spitting Image –
open up potential discussions of the role of satire within the mass media.
Secondary reading
S. Ball, The Conservative Party since 1945 (Manchester, 1998).
B. Campbell, The Iron Ladies: why do women vote Tory? (London, 1987).
R.A. Church, The Rise and Decline of the British Motor Industry (Cambridge, 1995).
E.J. Evans, Thatcher and Thatcherism, 2nd edn. (London, 2002).
A. Gamble, The Free Economy and the Strong State: the Politics of Thatcherism
(Basingstoke, 1988).
S. Hall and M. Jacques, The Politics of Thatcherism (London, 1983).
A. Seldon and D. Collings, Britain Under Thatcher (London, 1999).
A. Taylor, The Trade Unions and the Labour Party (London, 1987).
N. Woodward, The Management of the British Economy (Manchester, 2004).
H.Young,The Iron Lady: A Biography (London, 1989).
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Politics in the 1990s
The political and economic history of the 1990s has not as yet been substantially
covered within the discipline of history, although it is worth consulting the expansive
literature on the period in political science and economics. However, new editions
of books on contemporary Britain, expanded to include this period, emerge on a
regular basis. The principal topics for British political and economic history in the
1990s centre upon the Conservative leadership struggles, as well as the question of
economic and monetary involvement with Europe. The reconfiguration of Labour
into New Labour, and their subsequent landslide victory in 1997 also require
consideration. What exactly was ‘new’ about New Labour? Tony Blair and Gordon
Brown ushered in a new age of the Labour Party, breaking away from many of its
traditions, such as Clause IV. Why did Blair and Brown break from Labour traditions?
Were they closer to the Conservatives than their ‘Old’ Labour counterparts?
What was the impact on New Labour upon the political landscape? What were the
processes behind devolution in Scotland and Ireland?
Secondary reading
B. Brivati and T. Bale, New Labour in Power: Precedents and Prospects (London, 1997).
T. Heppell, ‘A crisis of legitimacy: the Conservative party leadership of John Major’,
Contemporary British History 21 (2007), pp. 471–90.
S. Hogg, Too close to call: power and politics, John Major in No. 10 (London, 1995).
D. Kavanagh and A. Seldon, The Blair Effect 2001–5 (Cambridge, 2005).
D. Kavanagh and A. Seldon, The Major Effect (Basingstoke, 1994).
S. Ludlam and M.J. Smith (eds.), Contemporary British Conservatism (Basingstoke, 1996).
A. Seldon, Blair’s Britain 1997–2007 (Cambridge, 2007).
A. Seldon, Major: A Political Life (London, 1998).
A. Watkins, A Conservative Coup: the Fall of Margaret Thatcher (London, 1991).
M. Garnett and P. Lynch (eds.), The Conservatives in Crisis: the Tories after 1997
(Manchester, 2003).
K.O. Morgan, Britain Since 1945: the People’s Peace 3rd edn. (Oxford, 2001).
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Ireland, Scotland and Wales
The Home Rule question had gained pace at the end of the 19th century, leading to
vehement calls for Irish independence from the United Kingdom at the start of the
20th. Irish independence was achieved by 1922, although the question of Ulster – the
seven counties of Northern Ireland which remained in the Union – was not resolved.
Tensions between the Catholic majority and dominant Protestant minority led to
the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s. Successive British governments tried
and failed to reach a peaceful agreement, with a lasting peace brokered finally in the
1990s. The Scottish and Welsh similarly developed nationalist movements, with varying
degrees of success. The nationalist movements achieved devolution in Scotland
and partial devolution in Wales in the late 1990s. The political history of the Celtic
nations can also be studied in terms of relationships with England and English national
identity; this in turn can be linked with questions of Empire and imperial identities.
Secondary reading
R. Samuel, ‘British dimensions: four nations history’, History Workshop Journal 40 (1995),
pp. iii–xxii. See same issue for articles on themes of Scottish history.
Ireland
P. Bew, The Politics of Enmity, 1789–2006 (Oxford, 2007).
D.G. Boyce, ‘A place apart?: Ulster, Britain and devolution, 1886–1939’, in D. Tanner
et al. (eds.), Debating nationhood and governance in Britain, 1885–1945: perspectives
from the ‘four nations’ (Manchester, 2006).
G. Dawson, ‘Trauma, place and the politics of memory: Bloody Sunday, Derry, 1972–
2004’, History Workshop Journal 59 (2005), pp. 151–78.
J. Loughlin, The Ulster Question Since 1945 2nd edn. (Basingstoke, 2004).
C. O’Donnell, ‘Pan-nationalism: explaining the Irish government’s role in the Northern
Ireland peace 1992–98’, Contemporary British History 21 (2007), pp. 223–45.
A. Parkinson, Belfast’s unholy war: the troubles of the 1920s (Dublin, 2004).
J. Smith, ‘“Ever reliable friends”?: the Conservative party and Ulster unionism in the
twentieth century’, English Historical Review 121:490 (2006), pp. 70–103.
Scotland
T. Devine and R. J. Finlay (eds.), Scotland in the Twentieth Century (Edinburgh, 1996).
R. Mitchison, A History of Scotland (London, 2002).
J. Wormald, Scotland (Oxford, 2005).
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Wales
K.O. Morgan, Modern Wales: Politics, Places and People (Cardiff, 1995).
G.A. Williams, When Was Wales? A History of the Welsh (London, 1985).
The end of Empire?
Although the British Empire had been increasingly difficult to manage by the interwar period, imperial sentiment still had a powerful role in British society. The socalled White Dominions were granted greater freedoms before the Second World
War, whilst the Labour Party commenced what would become a full programme
of decolonisation with the granting of Indian independence in 1947. Embarrassing
episodes such as the Suez Crisis and the growing tensions of the Cold War
demonstrated that Britain was no longer the major colonial power it had been. Along
with the costs of policing the Empire, there were increasing political and philosophical
reasons to support independence.Yet the processes of independence were complex
and sometimes bloody. The end of the Empire and the development of multicultural
Britain also caused tensions in race relations from the 1950s onwards.
Secondary reading
L. Butler, Britain and Empire: Adjusting to a Post-Imperial World (London, 2002).
P. Fryer, Black People in the British Empire: An Introduction (London, 1993).
P. Gilroy, After Empire: Melancholia or Convivial Culture? (London, 2004).
P. Gilroy, Postcolonial Melancholia (New York, 2005).
P. Gilroy, Small Acts (London, 1993).
D. Judd, The Lion and the Tiger: the rise and fall of the British Raj 1600–1947 (Oxford,
2004).
T.O. Lloyd, The British Empire 1558–1983 (Oxford, 1984).
T. Rooth, ‘Economic tensions and conflict in the Commonwealth, 1945–1951’,
Twentieth Century British History 13 (2002), pp. 121–43.
A. Thompson, Imperial Britain:The Empire in British Politics 1880–1932 (Harlow, 2000).
J. Tomlinson, ‘The decline of the Empire and the economic decline of Britain’, Twentieth
Century British History 14 (2003), pp. 201–21.
W. Webster, Englishness and Empire 1939–1965 (Oxford, 2007).
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Web resources
History in Focus issue on Empire: www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Empire/
Europe
At the same time that Britain relinquished some of its imperial ambitions, it began to
deal with the question of Europe. From 1914 onwards, Britain was forced to engage
with the destinies of its European neighbours. How did this – and the onset of the
Cold War – change British policies and perspectives? Why did economic relations
with Europe become increasingly attractive in the 1950s, and how did this impact on
relations with the British Empire? Why was there opposition to British entry to the
European Economic Community?
Secondary reading
B. Brivati and H. Jones (eds.), From Reconstruction to Integration: Britain and Europe since
1945 (Leicester, 1993).
R. Denman, Missed Chances: Britain and Europe in the Twentieth Century (London, 1996).
D. Gowland and H. Turner, Reluctant Europeans (Harlow, 2000).
S. Greenwood, Britain and European Co-Operation Since 1945 (Oxford, 1992).
V. Preston and R. Broad, Moored to the Continent? Britain and European Integration
(London, 2000).
H.Young, This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair (London, 1998).
J.W.Young, Britain and European Unity, 1945–99 (Basingstoke, 2000).
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Themes in social and cultural history
Class
How did class in Britain change in the course of the 20th century? What were the
impacts of the Welfare State, the National Health Service, comprehensive education
and the changing industrial base of the British economy on people’s identification
of their class? Was there a shift in power relations between the classes? Are we all
‘middle class’ now, as John Prescott stated? Has class ceased to be an important
factor in British social relations – and if so, when did this happen? How does class
relate to entry into higher education and the professions, to questions of social
inclusion and exclusion?
Secondary reading
B. Beaven, Leisure, Citizenship and Working Class Men in Britain 1850–1945 (Manchester,
2005).
J. Benson, The Working Class in Britain 1850–1939, rev. edn. (London, 2003).
T. Blackwell and J. Seabrook, A World Still to Win: the Reconstruction of the Post-War
Working Class (London, 1985).
J. Bourke, Working-Class Cultures in Britain 1890–1960: Gender, Class and Ethnicity
(London, 1994).
D. Cannadine, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy (New Haven, 1990).
D. Cannadine, Class in Britain (New Haven, 2000).
Contemporary British History – 22 (4) 2008 special issue on class and affluence.
J. Goldthorpe, C. Llewellyn and C. Payne, Social Mobility and Class Structure in Modern
Britain (Oxford, 1987).
S. Gunn and R. Bell, The Middle Classes:Their Rise and Sprawl (London, 2003).
R. McKibbin, Classes and Cultures: England 1918–1951 (Oxford, 1998).
J. Rose, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes (New Haven, 2001).
W.D. Rubinstein, Wealth and Inequality in Britain (London, 1986).
M. Savage and A. Miles, The Remaking of the British Working Class 1840–1940 (London,
1994).
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Primary sources
G. Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier (1937).
G. Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius (1941).
J.B. Priestley, English Journey (1934).
A. Ross, Noblesse Oblige: An enquiry into the identifiable characteristics of the English
aristocracy (London, 1956).
M.Young and P. Willmott, Family and Kinship in East London (1957).
Gender
One of the major thematic questions in 20th-century British history is the changing
nature of relations between the sexes. Women gained a range of social, political and
economic freedoms in the course of the century, although the rate of achieving equal
treatment to men has been slower. How did public changes impact upon private life?
How did ideas about love, courtship and sexuality change in the 20th century? How
did this influence life course patterns, such as rates of marriage or cohabitation?
What were the consequences of the ‘sexual revolution’? As the status of women
has changed, has that of men also altered? How has discussion of the issues around
sexualities transformed our understanding of gender and identities?
Secondary reading
S. Alexander, Becoming a Woman and other essays in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century
Feminist History (London, 1994).
M. Collins, Modern Love (London, 2003).
H. Cook, The Long Sexual Revolution: English Women, Sex and Contraception 1800–1975
(2005).
C. Davidson, A Woman’s Work is Never Done: A History of Housework in the British Isles
1650–1950 (London, 1982).
J. Giles, The Parlour and the Suburb: Domestic Identities, Class, Femininity and Modernity
(Oxford, 2004).
L.A. Hall, Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain Since 1880 (London, 2000).
M. Houlbrook and H. Cocks, Palgrave Advances in the Modern History of Sexuality
(Basingstoke, 2005).
A. Oakley, The Ann Oakley Reader: Gender,Women and Social Science (Bristol, 2005).
S. Rowbotham, Hidden From History: 300 Years of Women’s Oppression and the Fight to
End It (London, 1973).
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P. Summerfield, ‘Women, War and Social Change: Women in Britain in World War II’, in
A. Marwick (ed.), Total War and Social Change (Basingstoke, 1988).
J. Weeks, Sex, Politics and Society:The Regulation of Sexuality Since 1800 (London, 1981).
I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, (ed.), Women in Twentieth-Century Britain (Harlow, 2001).
Race and ethnicity
Although the British Isles have welcomed many waves of migrants over the millennia,
the 20th century saw great anxieties emerge over immigration and its impact
on British society, especially in the post-1945 period. Political debates around
immigration and multiculturalism have been well covered, but there is also an
increasing body of literature exploring the experience of minority ethnic Britons. This
topic is particularly rich for exploration through sources provided by oral history and
reminiscence projects.
Secondary reading
Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, The Empire Strikes Back: Race and Racism
in 70s Britain (London, 1983).
P. Fryer, Staying Power: Black People in Britain (London, 1984).
P. Gilroy, There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: the Cultural Politics of Race and Nation,
2nd edn. (London, 1991).
R. Hansen, Citizenship and Immigration in Postwar Britain:The Institutional Foundations of a
Multicultural Nation (Oxford, 2000).
C. Holme, John Bull’s Island: Immigration and British Society 1871–1991 (Basingstoke,
1988).
T. Kushner, Refugees:Then and Now (Manchester, 2006).
P. Panayi, Immigration, Ethnicity and Racism in Britain 1815–1945 (Manchester, 1994).
M. Philips and T. Philips, Windrush: the Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (London,
1999).
J. Solomos, Race and Racism in Modern Britain (Basingstoke, 2003).
R.Visram, Ayahs, Lascars and Princes: Indians in Britain 1700–1947 (London, 1986).
J. Walvin, Passage to Britain: Immigration in British History and Politics (Harmondsworth,
1984).
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Primary sources
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers:
Scarman Report: The Brixton Disorders 10–12 April 1981, Cmnd 8427 (1982).
Swann Report: Education for All: Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of
Children from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds, Cmnd 9453 (1985).
Dub poetry: Linton Kwesi Johnson, ‘Inglan is a Bitch’, see www.lintonkwesijohnson.com
Web resources
Black and Ethnic Minority Experience: www.be-me.org
Black History Month: www.black-history-month.co.uk
Butetown History and Arts Centre: www.bhac.org
Connections: Hidden British Histories: www.connections-exhibition.org
History in Focus issue on migration: www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Migration/
Moving Here: 200 Years of Migration in England: www.movinghere.org.uk
Runnymede Trust: www.runnymedetrust.org
Consumption and leisure
How did rising levels of affluence and changes in working life alter British leisure
patterns in the inter-war and post-war periods? How did these intersect with
class, gender, race and lifestage? How does consumption relate to identity? How
do changing patterns of consumption relate to the changing fabric of family life and
associational cultures? How have changing methods in organising businesses impacted
on personal and family life – for example, what are the impacts of supermarkets,
shopping malls and online shopping?
Secondary reading
S. Barton, Working-Class Holidays and Popular Tourism 1840–1970 (Manchester, 2005).
B. Beaven, Leisure, Citizenship and Working-Class Men in Britain 1850–1945 (Manchester,
2005).
A. Davies, Leisure, Gender and Poverty:Working Class Culture in Salford and Manchester,
1900–1939 (Milton Keynes, 1992).
M. Glucksmann, Women Assemble:Women Workers and the New Industries in Inter-war
Britain (London, 1990).
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J. Hassan, The Seaside, Health and the Environment in England and Wales since 1800
(Aldershot, 2003).
M. Hilton, Consumerism in the Twentieth Century:The Search for an Historical Movement
(Cambridge, 2003).
S. Jones, Workers at Play: a Social and Economic History of Leisure 1918–1939 (London,
1986).
C. Langhamer, Women’s Leisure in England 1920–1960 (Manchester, 2000).
R. McKibbin, ‘Class, politics, money: British sport since the First World War’, Twentieth
Century British History 13 (2002), pp. 191–200.
S. O’Connell and C. Reid, ‘Working-class consumer credit in the UK, 1925–60: the
role of the check trader’, Economic History Review 58 (2005), pp. 378–405.
K. Soper and F. Trentmann (eds.), Citizenship and Consumption (Basingstoke, 2008).
B. Supple (ed.), Essays in British Business History (Oxford, 1977).
J.K. Walton, The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century
(Manchester, 2000).
Web resources
Science Museum, ‘Everyday things’: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/subjects/
everyday_things.aspx
Working lives and education
In 1900, most Britons could expect to complete their education between the ages
of 12 and 14 and to enter immediately into their working lives. By 2000, secondary
education to the age of 16 was the norm, with increasing numbers continuing into
higher education. Why did British education expand in the 20th century? What were
its social impacts? How did it relate to economic requirements? How did it change
gender expectations? Did it open up the possibility of a meritocratic society? What
were the political implications of such policies as comprehensivisation and selection?
How did the inclusion of parent power and choice in Thatcherite education policy
reflect or presage changes in attitudes to other areas of the Welfare State? Why did
Britain retain a two-tier system of private and public education? How did educational
policies differ across the Four Nations? How did working lives change in the course
of the 20th century? What were the impacts of changing legislation with regard to
health and safety, holidays and equality of opportunity? How did women and men
experience entry to the workplace and professions in gendered ways? How did
technology impact upon the experience of working?
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Secondary resources
C. Benn, ‘Comprehensive School Reform and the 1945 Labour Government’, History
Workshop Journal 10 (1980), pp. 197–204.
C. Dyhouse, Students: a Gendered History (London, 2005).
J. Goldthorpe et al, The Affluent Worker: Industrial Attitudes and Behaviour (Cambridge,
1968).
H. Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England Since 1880 (London, 2002).
M. Savage, ‘Trade unionism, sex segregation and the state: women’s employment in
“new industries” in inter-war Britain’, Social History 13 (2) (1988), pp. 209–30.
D. Smith-Wilson, ‘A New Look at the Affluent Worker: The Good Working Mother in
Post-War Britain’, Twentieth Century British History 17 (2006), pp. 206–29.
G. Sutherland, ‘Education’ in F.M.L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of
Britain 1750–1950:Volume 3, Social Agencies and Institutions (Cambridge, 1990).
S. Todd, ‘Poverty and aspiration: young women’s entry to employment in inter-war
England’, Twentieth Century British History 15 (2004), pp. 119–42.
S. Todd, Young Women,Work, and Family in England, 1918–1950 (Oxford, 2005).
A. Witz, Professions and Patriarchy (London, 1995).
C. Wrigley, British Trade Unions Since 1933 (Cambridge, 1992).
M.Young, The Rise of the Meritocracy 1870–2033 (Harmondsworth, 1961).
Web resources
Working Lives Research Centre: www.workinglives.org
The media, communication and entertainment
There was what can be described as a ‘communications revolution’ in British society
during the 20th century. By the inter-war period, radio and cinema had become
extremely popular, while television took off from the 1950s. Postal and telegraphic
communications were supplemented by telephones, faxes and emails, further
connecting the globe. The relationship between the media and the establishment
is an important one to consider. How and why did the press barons have such an
important role in political debates from the inter-war period onwards? What is the
relationship between the BBC and the government? What is the role of the media –
to entertain or to educate? What challenges do new media pose to British society?
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Secondary reading
A. Aldgate, Best of British: Cinema and Society from 1930 to the Present (London, 1999).
C. Barr, All Our Yesterdays: 90 Years of British Cinema (London, 1986).
A. Bingham, Gender, Modernity and the Popular Press in Inter-War Britain (Oxford, 2004).
J. Curran and M. Gurevitch, Mass Media and Society (London, 2005).
J. Curran and J. Seaton, Power Without Responsibility:The Press, Broadcasting and New
Media in Britain (London, 2003).
S. Hanson, From Silent Screen to Multi-Screen: A History of Cinema Exhibition in Britain
Since 1896 (Manchester, 2007).
D. Hendy, ‘Bad language and BBC Radio Four in the 1960s and 1970s’, Twentieth
Century British History 17 (2006), pp. 74–102.
Web resources
BBC Archives: www.bbc.co.uk/archives
British Library, ‘Concise History of British newspapers in the Twentieth Century’:
www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/concisehistbritnews/britnews20th/
Guardian Century: http://century.guardian.co.uk
ITN Source: www.itnsource.com
Science Museum, ‘Communications and Computing’: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
onlinestuff/subjects/communications_and_computing.aspx
See also institutional subscriptions to newspaper digital archives.
Religion
A major subject for debate is the apparent secularisation of the nation after the
Second World War, particularly the decline in Church of England attendance. The rise
of other faith groups during this period is also of interest. This topic intersects with
questions of race, ethnicity and migration, along with the provision of welfare, as faith
groups are traditional providers of welfare. In the case of Ireland, Scotland and Wales,
the question also ties in with devolution, independence and civil rights.
Secondary reading
C.G. Brown, The Death of Christian Britain: Understanding Secularisation 1800–2000
(London, 2001).
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C.G. Brown, Religion and Society in Twentieth-Century Britain (London: Pearson, 2006).
S. Bruce, Religion in Modern Britain (Oxford, 1995).
H. McLeod, Religion and the People of Western Europe 1789–1989 (Oxford, 1997).
G. Parsons, The Growth of Religious Diversity, Britain from 1945.Volume 1:Traditions
(London, 1993).
G. Parsons, The Growth of Religious Diversity, Britain from 1945.Volume 2: Issues (London,
1994).
K. Robbins, History, Religion and Identity in Modern Britain (London, 1993).
K. Robbins, England, Ireland, Scotland,Wales: the Christian Church 1900–2000 (Oxford,
2008).
Crime
Has Britain become a more violent place in the course of the 20th century? How
was policing changed, and what does this say about ideas of community and social
relations? What was the impact of war and rising levels of affluence upon crime?
Why did separate courts for children and young people emerge – and why do young
people remain a problem? What are the connections, if any, between youth cultures
and crime? How does place intersect with crime and the fear of crime? Why was it
such a hot political issue by the 1990s for both parties?
Secondary reading
S. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics:The Creation of the Mods and the Rockers (St.
Albans, 1973).
P. Cox, Gender, Justice and Welfare: Bad Girls in Britain, 1900–1950 (Basingstoke, 2003).
S. Hall, C. Critcher, T. Jefferson, J. Clarke and B. Roberts, Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the
State and Law and Order (Basingstoke, 1978).
S. Hall and T. Jefferson, Resistance Through Rituals (Birmingham, 1976).
D. Hebdige, Subculture: the Meaning of Style (London, 1979).
S. Humphries, Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth
1889–1939 (Oxford, 1995).
G. Pearson, Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears (London, 1983).
E. Smithies, Crime in Wartime: A Social History of Crime in World War 2 (London, 1982).
J. White, The Worst Street in North London: Campbell Bunk, Islington between the Wars
(London, 1986).
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Welfare
The 20th century witnessed dramatic changes in the organisation of provision for
the needy. Although government involvement in welfare increased through poor
law and the extension of the powers of local government in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, the largest proportion of support came from charities and mutual
aid associations. Exposés of urban poverty from the 1860s and the social research
of Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree encouraged demands for reform, which
were in turn given additional credence by the outrage of the poor physical state
of conscripts to the Boer Wars. The Liberal Governments introduced a series of
reforms, including pensions and compulsory membership of unemployment and
sickness insurance schemes, before the First World War. Jane Lewis described this
system of local government, charitable and mutual provision as the mixed economy
of welfare. The unemployment system came under intense pressure during the
depressions of the 1930s, leading to further calls for greater state intervention
at a national level. The Beveridge Report of 1942 is seen as providing a blueprint
for the post-war Welfare State, as William Beveridge’s proposals were taken and
adapted by the Labour Party for their 1945 election campaign. The post-war Labour
Governments established a ‘cradle to grave’ welfare scheme and the National Health
Service. But did the Welfare State deliver all that it promised to? Did it create
new problems around concepts of rights and responsibilities? Why was poverty
‘rediscovered’ in 1965? Why did poverty become repackaged as ‘social exclusion’ by
New Labour?
Secondary reading
B. Abel-Smith and P. Townsend, The Poor and the Poorest: A New Analysis of the Ministry of
Labour’s Family Expenditure Surveys of 1953–4 and 1960 (London, 1965).
K. Bradley, Poverty, Philanthropy and the State: Charities and the Working Classes in London
1918–79 (Manchester, 2009).
H. Fawcett and R. Lowe (eds.), Welfare Policy in Britain:The Road from 1945
(Basingstoke, 1999).
G. Finlayson, Citizen, State and Social Welfare in Britain 1830–1990 (Oxford, 1994).
D. Fraser, The Evolution of the British Welfare State: A History of Social Policy since the
Industrial Revolution (Basingstoke, 2003).
B. Harris, The Origins of the British Welfare State: Society, State and Social Welfare in
England and Wales, 1800–1945 (Basingstoke, 2004).
S. Koven and S. Michel (eds.), Mothers of a New World: Maternalist Politics and the Origins
of Welfare States (London, 1993).
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R. Lowe, The Welfare State in Britain since 1945 (Basingstoke, 2005).
P. Thane, Foundations of the Welfare State 2nd edn. (London, 1996).
Web resources
G. Jones, Keele University, ‘Youth Policies in the UK: A Chronological Map’: www.keele.
ac.uk/depts/so/youthchron/
The National Archives, ‘The Welfare State’: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
cabinetpapers/alevelstudies/welfare-state.htm?WT.ac=The%20Welfare%20State/
The National Archives, ‘The Cabinet Papers 1915–1978: the National Health Service’:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/alevelstudies/nhs.htm?WT.ac=The%20
National%20Health%20Service/
Primary sources
Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services, London: HMSO, 1942.
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General reference guides
Secondary works
B. Brivati, J. Buxton and A. Seldon, The Contemporary History Handbook (Manchester,
1996).
F. Carnevali and J. Strange, Twentieth Century Britain: Economic, Cultural and Social Change
2nd edn. (London, 2007).
R. Floud, The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain,Vol. 2 Economic Maturity
(Cambridge, 2003).
P. Johnson (ed.), Twentieth-Century Britain: Economic, Social and Cultural Change (London,
1994).
K. Laybourn, Fifty Key Thinkers in Twentieth Century British Politics (London, 2002).
W. Simpson, Twentieth Century British History: A Teaching Resource Book (London, 2005).
Key journals
Twentieth Century British History
Contemporary British History
Web resources
BBC Archive: television and radio clips from the BBC Archives:www.bbc.co.uk/
archive/
British Film Institute Online, Screenonline: excellent site linking films to themes in
British history: www.screenonline.org.uk/history/history_culture.html
British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent: searchable online archive of cartoons –
ideal for both political and social history teaching alike: www.cartoons.ac.uk
Centre for Contemporary British History, Institute of Historical Research, University
of London. The CCBH was founded in 1986 to promote the study of the recent
past: www.ccbh.ac.uk
Culture 24: portal for access to collections of museums, galleries, libraries and
archives: www.culture24.org.uk/home/
History and Policy: demonstrates the relevance of history to contemporary policymaking. It has a searchable archive of papers on a variety of historical topics:
www.historyandpolicy.org
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32 | Contemporary Britain
ITN Source: clips from the footage libraries of Reuters, ITN, ITV, British Pathé, Fox
News, Movietone and others: www.itnsource.com
The National Archives, Cabinet Papers 1915–1978: a JISC-funded project aimed at
A-level students and teachers. Provides bite-size definitions of major events as
well as links to primary sources and further reading: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
cabinetpapers/themes/browse-by-theme.htm
Additional references
V. Chambers, ‘“Informed by, but not guided by, the concerns of the present”:
Contemporary history in UK higher education – its teaching and
assessment’, Journal of Contemporary History 44 (1), pp. 89–105 (2009). DOI:
10.1177/0022009408098648.
Editorial, Twentieth Century British History 1 (1990), pp. 1–2.
contemp.indd 32
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Historical Insights: Focus on Teaching
Contemporary Britain
ISBN 978-0-9564603-4-9
May 2010
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